Due to a recent rash of property crimes in the Enid and Teasdale communities, the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Office has increased patrols in the area — which also has led to several unrelated arrests.
“Since Jan. 13, we’ve had seven incidents around the Enid-Teasdale area, and we had one on Highway 35 North, up Valley Road, which isn’t far from Teasdale,” Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly said Tuesday.
He noted that a majority of the crimes have been nighttime vehicle break-ins during which automobiles have been “gone through and ransacked,” but added that a car and flatbed trailer also have been stolen.
Targets on Bethel, Mosier, Peters Hill, Ruffin and Teasdale roads have been hit to date, the sheriff explained.
In response, Fly said his office has bulked up patrols.
“We’ve emphasized patrolling the area and plan on having extra patrols the next couple of weeks,” he noted.
Tallahatchie County Sheriff Jimmy Fly
However, he said residents can help by making it more difficult for the criminals.
“A majority of the incidents that we’ve had have involved vehicles that were unlocked, and they would just open the door,” Fly said. “We had one case where a window was busted out, but the rest were unlocked.”
The sheriff also urges people not to leave enticing valuables in their rides overnight.
“Don’t keep guns, debit cards, cash, cellphones or computer tablets in your vehicle at night, because more than likely that’s what [the thieves] are after — just something that’s easy to get and easy to get rid of,” he said.
Five firearms have been stolen from area automobiles, including two rifles, one shotgun and one pistol taken from the one automobile in which a window was broken out. A pistol was reported taken from an unlocked car Feb. 18.
Fly said officials have alerted area pawn shops and other outlets that might be approached about buying some of the items.
Investigators believe that the vehicle burglaries have been committed by the same people. “It’s kind of the same M.O. every time,” said Fly.
Bread crumbs have been hard to come by, he noted.
The sheriff said a security camera outside one of the residences captured video of two subjects believed to be males approaching and opening an unlocked truck door at night.
“We’ve got some leads on it, but not anything to make an arrest yet,” he noted.
After two vehicles parked outside a home on Peters Hill Road were hit Feb. 4, officials traced one of several debit cards taken from the automobiles to a Rascals convenience store in Batesville, where a subject presented it in an attempt to make a purchase, Fly explained. The store’s security system captured video and a still shot of the male, but the footage was blurry and grainy.
Suspected debit card thief captured on surveillance video at Rascals convenience store in Batesville
“We’ve talked with Batesville Police Department and some other people, and nobody can really put a finger on him,” the sheriff noted.
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A trailer reported stolen Feb. 10 from a residence on Highway 35 north of Charleston was recovered later that day in Batesville, said Fly.
“We worked with Panola County on that and were able to identify two suspects,” the sheriff said.
Lezedrick Darnell Whitehead, 44, of 39 Beatty Road, Enid, was arrested Feb. 12 and charged with grand larceny in connection with the theft, said Fly, who noted that Whitehead is being held at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler (TCCF) on a $20,000 bond with holds placed on him by Batesville police and Panola County on unrelated charges.
Lekedrick Darnell Whitehead
Stephanie Renee Potts, 45, of 18001 Highway 51 S., Sardis, was arrested and charged in Panola County with grand larceny and trespassing in connection with a trailer stolen from Cole Road in Enid, near Mosier Road. Fly said she is being held at the Panola County Jail on a $15,000 bond.
Potts, like Whitehead, is a suspect and alleged partner in crime in the theft of the trailer on Highway 35, but Fly said no formal charges have been filed against her for that. Her case will be presented to a Tallahatchie County grand jury for consideration.
Stephanie Renee Potts
The arrests of Whitehead and Potts did not stop vehicle break-ins in the Enid-Teasdale area, Fly noted.
“So, we can’t put it all on them,” he said.
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In another crime in the Enid-Teasdale area, an Infiniti car was reported stolen Feb. 14 at 11:21 p.m. from a residence on Ruffin Road.
Fly said lawmen in Panola County spotted and chased the Infiniti that night before losing sight of it.
The luxury vehicle was found wrecked and abandoned the next day in a ditch in Panola County.
“We’re working with Panola County, but no arrests have been made,” Fly noted.
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Several arrests unrelated to the crime spree have been made as a result of stepped-up patrols in the Enid-Teasdale area, the sheriff explained.
Chelsea Raven Browning
Fly said Chelsea Raven Browning, 32, of 1820 Riverside Dr., Clarksdale, was arrested Feb. 16 at 2:56 a.m. and charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance believed to be crystal meth, after being stopped by a patrolling deputy who noticed a paper tag on her vehicle. She was turning from Teasdale Road onto Bethel Road at the time, he noted.
Browning was released after posting a $1,000 bond.
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Jonathan Tyler Ray, 21, of 445 Perkins Ave., Crowder, was arrested at 12:51 a.m. on Feb. 17 after being stopped in the Teasdale community for no tail lights, said Fly.
He also was charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, believed to be marijuana. Ray was released after posting a bond of $1,000, Fly said.
Jonathan Tyler Ray
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In another case, a pair of Grenada County men were arrested in connection with the Feb. 16 early-morning burglary of a Charleston-area self-storage facility, noted Fly.
A single storage unit at Country Mini Storage, located at 32809 Highway 32, Oakland, was broken into during the incident reported to authorities at 1:39 a.m.
Fly said items including five boxes of crystal glasses, a rocking chair, writing desk and a framed glass window were taken, based on surveillance video of the incident. The goods had an estimated total value of $1,500, he said.
Social media helped to make the arrests, noted Fly, who explained that surveillance images of the two men captured by cameras on the mini storage grounds were posted to Facebook and soon were identified. Contact was made, and both of the suspects turned themselves in within 14 hours, at approximately 3 p.m., Fly added.
Anthony Glynn Sides
Micheal Shane Brown
Anthony Glynn Sides, 44, of 849 Sunset Dr., Grenada, and Micheal Shane Brown, 38, of 2010 Pass St., Grenada, were hit with identical charges of burglary of a commercial building and trespassing, noted Fly, who said that as of Tuesday, both were still being held at TCCF on bonds of $36,500 apiece.
Fly said a majority of the items taken from the storage unit have been recovered.
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The sheriff said the public is encouraged to report suspicious activity observed in rural areas of the county by calling the Tallahatchie County Sheriff’s Office in Charleston at 662-647-5511 or 662-647-3700, or in Sumner at 662-375-8676.
